New Mukilteo Ferry Terminal Construction Update

The Washington State Department of Transportation has issued a statement regarding the Ferry Terminal project.

The outlines of the new Mukilteo ferry terminal building are finally visible on the Mukilteo waterfront, one-third of a mile east of the current building. Construction is slated to begin this spring on the terminal building, holding lanes, toll booths, and all other components needed for operation. This puts us on track to open to the public in fall 2020.

The terminal building is designed to be light on the earth. It will be constructed to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification, which honors our commitment to tribal partners. It integrates solar panels, natural ventilation, rain water harvesting, enhanced stormwater treatment, native plantings, and other green design elements into the building and surrounding landscaping.

On the road to construction

To increase the competition and number of bidders for this phase of construction, we split the package into two contracts – upland buildings and marine structures – rather than the single contract we advertised last summer. We took the lessons learned from that first round of contractor bids to find ways to reduce project costs. We advertised the uplands contract to bidders on October 22 and will open those bids on November 21.

With the second contract, the marine portion, we knew we had some time before advertising it to work on securing more funding and get a clearer picture of costs, which will come when we see the bids for the uplands contract later this month. This project is funded, however some bids came in above estimates because of escalating costs on items like steel and fuel. We’re always looking for ways to address those fluctuations, and this delay gives us time to continue coordinating project funding with the governor and the state Legislature. The marine portion goes out for bids in early 2019.

When it opens to the public in 2020, the new Mukilteo ferry terminal will provide passengers with improved transit connections, safer and more efficient loading facilities, and improve the appearance of and access to the Mukilteo waterfront.